Ohio Bettors May Be Able to Place Live Bets on Peach Bowl if Game Goes Past Midnight

Saturday night's College Football Playoff matchup between Ohio State and Georgia will be the final college football game before online and in-person sports betting is legal in Ohio.

The Peach Bowl game featuring the Buckeyes and the Bulldogs will kick off at 8 ET at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, and while Ohio sports betting won't be legal for another four hours when play starts, there is a chance Buckeye State bettors will be able to place live bets on the game if it lasts long enough to stretch into the New Year.

College football games typically run around three-and-a-half hours, so the game could realistically end after the clock strikes midnight if it goes into overtime or the length of the game lasts longer than expected.

Online and in-person sports betting is scheduled to launch in Ohio at midnight ET on Sunday.

The College Football Playoff semifinal tilt between the Buckeyes and the Bulldogs will start just in time for Ohio bettors to take advantage of most of Ohio sportsbooks' pre-registration offers before they expire when the calendar flips to 2023.

If the Buckeyes can pull off the upset against the favored Bulldogs in the Peach Bowl, Ohio bettors will be able to wager on their next game, which would be the National Championship game against either Michigan or TCU on Jan. 9 at SoFi Stadium in California.

Earlier this month, the Ohio Casino Control Commission squashed rumors that it would move up the start date of Ohio sports betting to accommodate for the Ohio State-Georgia game.

“While the Commission received inquiries regarding a change to the launch of sports gaming, in order to keep the start date universal for those looking to launch as required by law, sports gaming in Ohio will begin on Jan. 1, 2023,” an OCCC representative told Sports Handle via email in mid-December.

Which Ohio Sportsbooks Will Go Live on Jan. 1?

These are the Ohio sportsbooks that are likely to be available at launch on Sunday for the first day of legal betting.

• Barstool
• Betfred
• betJACK
• BetMGM
• Betr
• BetRivers
• Betway
• bet365
• Caesars
• DraftKings
• FanDuel
• Gamewise
• Hard Rock
• PointsBet
• SuperBook
• Tipico

Ohio Sports Betting Background

Ohio’s dense population, numerous professional and college teams, along with operator-friendly rules, is expected to make it one of the top markets in the country. Ohio is the fourth-most populated state that will offer legalized sports betting and the seventh-most populated state in the U.S. overall.

Ohio will be the first state to go live with legal sports betting in 2023, following Maryland's online sports betting launch in November. Massachusetts is set to launch in-person sports betting on Jan. 31 followed by an online sports betting go-live date sometime in February or March.